Child of Fracture
by myvantage84
Summary: Thalia, the daughter of King Achmed and a mysterious desert seer, was never supposed to exist -- but Meridion has fallen for her...now the Child of Time must make an impossible choice: Save the woman he loves, or save the world and allow her to die.
1. Achmed's Daughter

Author's Note: Achmed, Meridion and Rhapsody, as well as any other Symphony of Ages characters, ideas and places belong to Elizabeth Haydon. Please read and review :)

Meridion pushed his glasses aside and covered his face with his hands. No matter how hard he tried, he could not forget her face or put her out of his mind. She was never supposed to exist; born out of one of many mistakes that had plagued his manipulation of time. He watched her through the fractured glass of the destroyed time line and sighed. How could a mere possibility be as strong as reality?

**Chapter 1: Achmed's daughter**

Thalia slowly trudged below a scorching desert sun as she made her annual journey back to her father's kingdom. The arid, dry air enabled her to pick up vibrations from hundreds of leagues away. However, she had no concern whatsoever about what was going on a hundred leagues away. As it stood, she found the incessant prattle of the neighboring nomadic groups to be an irritation at best. To that end, a sheer scarf was tied around her neck; muffling the mundane sounds the air normally carried to the sensitive skin around her throat.

She was three days from meeting up with the caravan that would carry her to her father's domain; and she valued the time alone. There were no expectations or demands, no tasks or obscure studies -- just her and the white sand stretching from horizon to horizon. Thalia was alone. Many would believe a young woman traveling without escort in the desert would be extremely vulnerable. Those people had never met Achmed's daughter. Two long, slender daggers were sheathed at her hips ready for use at the slightest provocation. Intelligent people avoided provoking Thalia. Idiots received flesh wounds, though at her aunt's insistence she refrained from further damage.

A ghost of a smile hovered briefly on Thalia's lips as she thought of her beautiful, golden-haired aunt. She hoped that Rhapsody would visit during Thalia's stay, she had seen little of the woman the year before when Thalia returned from her sojourn with her mother's people.

Thalia stretched the kinks out of her arms as she continued to walk. The young woman had her father's rail-thin frame and her desert mother's tawny complexion. Her dark, wavy hair was tied up on her head in an complex coil of braids. Thalia had wanted to shave all her hair off, but her mother's people recoiled from such an idea. She remembered Jetasan's horrified look and laughed aloud. Perhaps she should shave her head; seeing Jetasan's reaction might warrant the accompanying lecture.

The day wore on as Thalia crossed her desert homeland, distant Teeth Mountains on the horizon, nothing but her thoughts for company. As evening approached, so did the familiar oasis that marked the halfway point of her journey. Through her sheer scarf her skin prickled with the vibrations of movement and speech. Thalia cursed inwardly, there were several people making camp at the secluded oasis. She sighed, resigned. It seemed that she would have to be civil for the time being, the oasis being too small for her to disappear into the shadows as was her wont in such situations.

All of the sudden Thalia stopped. One of the scents was obnoxiously familiar. What was _he_ doing here?


	2. Rhapsody's Son

Author's Note: See disclaimer from Chapter 1. Also if anyone is reading this, and you like/dislike it or have ideas, please review!

Please Review!

Chapter 2: Rhapsody's son

Meridion opened his eyes and laughed to himself. She had just picked up his vibration. He could immediately sense the change in her stance; her surprise, her irritation, and something else he couldn't quite identify.

She crested the horizon, at first only a dim blot on the desert sands, her lithe form wavering in the mirages of distance. Slowly she came into his visual focus, though he had sensed her in his radius of awareness for the last hour.

Thalia slowly solidified against the backdrop of the crimson setting sun. Stunningly exotic, she wore her hair bound and had her customary daggers strapped to her hips. Rising from his place under the shade of a desert palm he went to meet her. She looked up at his approach and her unwavering gaze met his. Meridion's mouth curved into an indolent smile as he met her gaze unflinching. He repressed a laugh as he felt her grind her teeth in annoyance.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked without preamble.

Meridion bowed with a great flourish and put on his most debonair expression.

"But of course, mistress I am here to escort you home. Surely a young lady cannot travel alone."

Thalia responded by saying some very uncomplimentary things about Cymrians, using the snarling, guttural language of the Bolg to emphasize her point. Meridion doubled over with laughter. Thalia gave him look that would have flayed flesh from bone.

"Tali, that was the best yet! Just the part about being the son of a strutting pig made the whole trip worth it." He said, still laughing. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and turned to face the oasis. Thalia gave up as she allowed him to usher her to camp.

"You still haven't answered the question," she said in a pained voice.

He looked down at her as his draconic nature supplied him minute observations; how many eyelashes she had on her lower lid, the length of her breath, and how many times her heart had beat in the last ten seconds.

"That's because you didn't ask nicely," Meridion explained in a long-suffering tone.

"I most certainly did!" Thalia protested, "I never once threatened to stab you, hit you, or injure you in any way whatsoever!"

Meridion frowned. "Alright, I'll concede that point," he shrugged continuing, "I just wanted to see you earlier, so I asked Achmed if I could meet you half-way."

He heard Thalia's breath catch as she opened her mouth, but rethinking her response, closed it again. She looked up at him, and while she still wore an expression of displeasure her dual toned-eyes had softened slightly. Then they took on a perplexed expression.

"He said… yes?" she asked.

Meridion grinned sheepishly and ran his fingers through his hair. "Not the first or second time," he admitted, "but I think by the third week he would have given me anything I asked for just to avoid seeing my face."

He was rewarded with just a hint of a smile. When they reached the oasis, Meridion leaned down to whisper in Thalia's ear.

"These men are with me, I would appreciate it you didn't hurt them."

She nodded slightly and whispered back "So long as no one gives me a reason."

Meridion's eyes darkened, "Don't worry I will not suffer anyone to hurt you," he said, his voice low and deadly.

She poked him hard in the ribs, "Don't insult me," she laughed. "You are the only one who could even remotely pose any danger to me."

Meridion stopped and turned to her "What do you mean remotely? If I seem to remember correctly, the last time we dueled in Ylorc, _I_ won the six out of nine spars."

"That was pure luck. I wasn't feeling well that day," she said defensively, "I also won three consecutive rounds -- which you could not seem to pull off."

"That sounds like a challenge, Tali."

"You can refuse if you're scared, Meridion."


	3. Midnight Duel

Author's Note: Please see disclaimer in Chapter 1. If anyone's home can you please review? Please? I am working on other stories and I would like to know if I am wasting my time with this one…

Please review! Please please PLEASE!!

**Chapter 3: Midnight Duel**

The stars shone with the brilliance of diamonds in the expanse of an endless ebony sky. In the frail moonlight two figures were engaged in the intricate dance of combat. The ring of steel broke the otherwise still, silent night as the two fought back and forth, thrust and parry, their sweat gleaming in the moonlight's ambient glow.

One of the few things Thalia would admit liking, she enjoyed dueling with Meridion to no end. His draconic lore wiped out any advantage she gained from her inherited Dhracian lineage. Meridion was strong, agile, and skilled; a worthy opponent. He swung his sword to her side twisting at the last second to change direction, but Thalia was already prepared, as her long dagger deflected his blade. Her opponent wasted no time, simultaneously pushing the weight of his blade against her dagger and withdrawing the sword to attack again.

Thalia was on the defensive as Meridion started another flurry of sword strokes, so swift that that the arcs were impossible to follow with the naked eye. Thalia didn't try. Her sheer scarf was discarded and her exposed throat brought the information rapidly to her system; direction, speed, inclination. She leaned slightly to the right as she stepped back. His finishing blow missed and he was slightly overbalanced.

It had taken Meridion less than a moment to straighten himself but Thalia used the opening to sidestep to Meridion's right, knowing he was left handed and would instinctually follow that direction. He did, and Thalia dropped to the ground, balancing on her palms, daggers flat to the ground. She swung the lower half of her body around, pulling Meridion's legs from under him. He swore as he fell, the desert sands absorbing the impact. Immediately Thalia straddled her fallen opponent holding her left dagger several inches from his throat.

"Fine. You win," Meridion said, out of breath. Thalia smiled and sheathed her dagger at her side. As soon she did, Meridion flipped her over pining her to the ground under his weight. Thalia narrowed her eyes at the man. His golden, wiry curls fell forward and hung in his face, damp from the exertion of their combat. His azure eyes were dark, but the vertical slits sparkled with amusement.

"Meridion you can't pull that this time," Thalia sputtered angrily. "You already admitted defeat!" she said. Though she was done fighting and her heart rate should be going down, it instead began to pick up tempo as a lazy, sensuous smile spread across Meridion's face. His large hands held her arms firmly in place, and his touch caused a strange ache in the bottom of her stomach that spread down into core of her body.

"I did. You win… for tonight." Meridion answered as Thalia's attention was drawn to his bared skin, he had pulled off his sweat-soaked shirt before their last exchange. A thin layer of perspiration lay against his skin and Thalia leaned back as she took a ragged breath.

"Tali?" Meridion's voice was soft. Thalia didn't answer him, she couldn't. His proximity was overloading her senses. His scent was heavy and she could feel it seeping into her pores. Her blood felt like it had turned to lava as it burned his scent through her veins. Thalia closed her eyes as she struggled for control against the alien responses of her body. She felt Meridion remove his hands from her arms and cup them under her head. She gasped and her eyes flew open as his thumbs lightly touched the sensitive skin of her throat.

She found herself looking into a pair of frightened, azure eyes.

"Thalia are you alright?"

She struggled against him to rise and he promptly removed his weight from her. She sat up and took a steadying breath. Meridion was still staring at her with a concerned expression.

Thalia shook her head trying to clear it and her own confusion. "I'm fine Meridion," she said calmly. She got to her feet and dusted the sand off her clothing, trying without success to stop her hands from visibly trembling. Meridion also stood, worry etching a line in his brow. He collected his own sword and shirt; stopping to picking up Thalia's other dagger and scarf as well.

"I sorry, Thalia I didn't mean to hurt you," Meridion quietly apologized.

A dry laugh escaped Thalia's throat as she took her scarf and dagger from Meridion.

"That's probably why you lost," she answered.


	4. Blood Memory

Author's Note: Nothing from the Symphony of Ages belongs to me…it belongs to Elizabeth Haydon.

The _litany against fear_ and the character _Alia_ are from Frank Herbert's Dune series. (though I do take some liberties with the character…)

I would like to thank Elaura Isillin for reviewing, I will finish the story, but reviews will get it done much faster. That being said; please review if you like it! (If you don't, review anyway and tell me what's wrong!)

**Chapter 4: Blood Memory**

Achmed stood on the promontory overlooking the arrival of the spring caravan. His mismatched eyes were half lidded and his mouth was settled in its usual half sneer. He searched out her heartbeat and immediately found it; trailing the end of the caravan. Thalia looked up then, and nodded slightly. Achmed returned it with an equally small inclination of his hand. He turned to leave, no emotion betrayed on his face.

But the sneer was gone.

Thalia slipped into his study a quarter hour later and propped on one of the side tables. Grabbing the nearest book, she flipped it open. It was the usual routine, unbroken silence for the next hour. He knew why she was here. No one bothered her here and she liked the quiet. Her mouth twitched into a slight smile. She liked the book he left for her. She settled into her reading and he went back to his quiet analysis until a sharp knock on the door caused both Achmed and Thalia to look up.

"'Oi thought I heard you were back!"

The giant Firbolg General crossed the room in two steps, picking up the young woman and hugging her with a crushing embrace.

"Grunthor…my…ribs…" Thalia rasped.

"Oy, sorry princess!" Grunthor said, not sounding the least bit apologetic as he put the young woman down.

Thalia gave the Bolg warrior a pained smile as she rubbed her ribs.

"You're a helluva sight fer' me poor eyes Tali! I think ya' got purtier this year." Grunthor said looking her up and down and wiggling his eyebrow.

"Trust me Grunthor; I still taste really bad. I'm fairly certain it's because of my poor attitude and general disregard for common courtesy."

Achmed, who had been watching the exchange with slight amusement snorted at Thalia's retort. Thalia gave him a sidelong glance and arched her eyebrow. Achmed didn't look up, but answered her unspoken 'what's so funny?'

"Thalia," he said sternly, in his dry, rasping voice, "You should really learn to take a compliment."

"Even if that compliment is a prelude to being cooked as a main course?" Thalia countered.

"'Oi consider ya' an appetizer." Grunthor interjected, slightly offended.

"Besides, Father," Thalia continued, "That sounds like something Rhapsody would say," she finished calmly.

Achmed's face held no reaction; but Thalia could sense him grinding his teeth. She smirked. Achmed hated being compared to the Lirin Singer, mostly because underneath their opposite exteriors they really were very similar. Unconsciously Thalia's smirk slid into a thoughtful frown. Rhapsody had been the only reason she was conceived in the first place; her father had exchanged his seed so that the Lady Cymrian would be permanently freed of her increasingly violent nightmares; the likes of which even her wyrmkin husband couldn't chase away.

Her father's sacrifice was miniscule compared to Thalia's mother's. A powerful seer-Queen, Alia carried a small amount of Dhracian blood, and for reasons unknown to Thalia, she sought to breed a stronger line. To honor her end of the bargain, the queen ripped out and absorbed part of Rhapsody's lore, freeing the Namer of her prescient nightmares.

However, Queen Alia paid a devastating price. Taking the burden of Rhapsody's prescience along with her own prophetic sight caused the seer to go completely insane. Alia had not even carried her daughter to term before committing suicide. Thalia had been wrenched from the womb of a dead woman. It was only through the skills of Rhapsody's lore that the child had even survived.

Thalia always wondered if her mother had known what the consequences of her actions would be. The young woman also wondered if her life was worth the cost. Her mother's people were left bereft of both their ruler and guide. The leadership vacuum sparked a horrible and bloody civil war that had taken the lives of many of her people.

Thalia closed the book no longer willing to read. She carried a blood burden that would follow her for the rest of her life, and right now all she wanted to do was escape it.

Achmed watched his daughter's retreating form as she left his study. She would run now. He had seen as much in her expression.

"'Oy was it som'n 'Oi said? Maybe 'Oi did squeeze her a little too hard…" Grunthor said; a worried expression on his face. The massive Bolg stood to go after her.

"Leave her." Achmed said; his voice quiet and harsh. He returned to his analysis as Grunthor frowned and sat back down.

--

The wind whipped through the mountain fortress as her steps beat down on the hard earth. She pivoted against the wind, an adversary that dogged every step; that made every breath a fight to take. She was too determined, too stubborn, for it to be any other way. She would run until her lungs gave out and she collapsed in an exhausted heap, she would run until every once of energy was spent; she would run until her body screamed in the same amount of pain that her heart did when she was still.

_She could still feel it. The madness like a distant memory…_

Thalia grit her teeth. She would not do this to herself.

_Her blood cooling as it pooled around her body…_

She stopped mid-stride and fell to her knees emptying the contents of her stomach.

_The screams of the dying a bitter counterpoint to the requiem for the end of the ages…_

Inhale. Exhale. Thalia forced herself to focus on the litany:

_I must not fear_…_Fear is the mind-killer._

_Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration._

_I will face my fear._

_I will permit it to pass over me and through me._

_And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path._

_Where the fear has gone there will be nothing._

_Only I will remain._

Thalia pushed herself off the ground. Stumbling slightly she resumed her relentless pace.

--

Achmed drummed his fingers softly against the edge of his desk as he continued to track her heartbeat through the fortress of Ylorc.

'Sir, Oi dinna think it's a good idea for her to leave home so soon…she just got 'ere today."

"Rhapsody can take care of her…besides if that brat of hers comes in here again, I am going to send him back home in pieces."

"Nice to know I'm so universally adored," said an amused voice. Meridion slid into the door that had previously been locked.

Achmed reflected. Tomorrow he would get his best engineers to put a lock on his door that would only open to _him_.

Meridion folded his arms, regarding Achmed through the golden slits in his eyes. "Now is that anyway to talk about your favorite nephew?"

"You are about to be my _dead_ nephew," Achmed muttered.

Meridion merely smiled. "I doubt it _uncle._ I look too much like my mother for you to seriously..."

The young man was cut off by a paper thin disk shooting past his head and embedded itself into the door.

"Er…ah…Never mind your majesty," Meridion quickly amended. "I think I'll just be going now," he added hastily as he backed slowly toward the door.

"What did you want, Meridion?" Achmed asked, a tic working at his jaw. Rhapsody's son tended to nag when he wanted something.

"Its about Tali," he said, "I just wondered if you let her know we're leaving tomorrow when the caravan's ready," he added quickly as he noticed Achmed frown dangerously. Meridion stood nervously at the door as he eyed Achmed's cwellan with obvious concern.

"Meridion," Achmed said.

"Yes sir?" Meridion asked anxiously.

"Get out."


End file.
